You know you have audiophile system when...

@wyoboy  - I specifically asked them about the double vs. triple because with single ended cables there is only two conductors, so there isn't anything beyond double to be balanced.  It doesn't mean that a triple-balanced design can sound good with single ended connectors, but I think it would be expected to result from other design factors.  It's kind of a snake oil move to put single ended connectors on a cable designed for balanced audio as the result is just a more expensive cable that likely doesn't have the same performance value as it would for balanced audio.  Too many customers simply assume that farther up the line and more expensive is always better.  Sometime audio manufactures advertise things that simply don't pass the common sense test.  The fact that the Yukon interconnects are double-balanced for RCA and triple-balanced for XLR with all of the other features being the same made me curious enough to ask about it.

There's only so many ways to connect a cable with either two conductors or three conductors...

@mceljo Totally agree but that really hadn't occurred to me at the time b/c i bought the RR cables used for half price (never unboxed according to seller and i'm reasonably sure that was the case) so it didn't matter to me much--if i were buying AQ cables from scratch i would probably have gone with Big Sur or Sydney as i use single-ended for everything and price seems a good value for features.

@wyoboy - Sounds like you got a good deal and a solid value.

If I had it to do over I'd have gone with Golden Gate as a first step and then would upgrade to the Sydney.  The first step was an inexpensive step to prove to myself that upgraded interconnects would make a difference in my system.

I think of the attitude people have about High Fidelity along similar lines as the attitude some Americans have about the education of their kids. Some people think that they should have a say as to what their children will be taught. But those same parents often want their children to be "better educated" then they were themselves. So what if the parents are ignorant and under educated? We all can always learn more about audio and more about the world. Why draw limits? I would like to learn MORE about audio and MORE about the world.

A music lover uses audio equipment to listen to his recordings. An audiophile uses recordings to listen to his audio equipment!

@whitefishpoint1175 

This is a quote from Allan Parsons, and he was wrong when he originally said it, and the quote is still wrong now.

First of all, there is a "no true Scotsman" fallacy in there. As well as a false dichotomy.

Of course, there are a small subset of audiophiles who do care more about the sound of the equipment, than the music. But why should anyone care if that is how they get their enjoyment from their systems?

But the vast majority of audiophiles that are ’music first’ audiophiles.

The vast majority of my listening, I couldn’t care less about the gear. I just listen to the music.

But this doesn’t mean, there are other times, for a couple hours every couple of weeks, that I can’t have loads of fun, just paying attention to the gear, playing ’approved’ audiophile recordings, tweaking my system, etc. And not paying to much attention to the music itself.

So, by the above (bogus) definition of audiophile and music lover, I guess I switch between the 2 on a regular basis. But I always consider myself an audiophile AND a music lover.